The kitchen was filled with laughter, while the man in the living room was restless.
His anxiety was interrupted by the sight of Nina bouncing down the stairs with a bag of chips.
He waved to the little girl in an uncharacteristic move, "Serenina Ziegler, come here."
Nina, thinking she had been caught red-handed, quickly hid the chips behind her back, "I only had a little bit, don't punish me."
Bernard was too preoccupied to care about her snack intake, he just nodded at her, "Do me a favour and I won't punish you."
With that, Nina approached him and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
Bernard glanced at the kitchen and said, "Go smooth things over with Eleanor."
Nina immediately understood, "Did you tick off Eleanor?"
Bernard shot her a look, "Don't ask what you're not supposed to."
Nina pouted, "You're asking me for a favour and you're being mean. I won't help you."
Bernard's indifferent eyes fixed on the snacks in her hand, "Your choice, want to be punished or do as I asked?"
Upon hearing this, Nina's cheerful expression vanished, "You're such a jerk..."
Bernard shrugged, "There's plenty who don't like me, one more won't make a difference."
Nina found talking to him to be infuriating, especially with him having something on her. What a pain!
She gritted her teeth, thrusted the chips into Bernard's hands, "I'll do your bidding, you keep an eye on my chips. When I'm back, you feed it to me!"
Bernard watched her determined figure, chuckled and tossed the chips to a maid, "Just throw it away."
Unaware of her chips' fate, Nina ran into the kitchen and hugged Eleanor's leg, "Eleanor, are you mad at Bernard?"
Eleanor didn't expect Bernard to send Nina as a peace envoy. She chuckled and pinched Nina's nose, "Your plea won't help."
Nina gave her puppy eyes, "I'm not pleading for him, I just feel sorry for him. Please don't be mad."
Eleanor remained unmoved. Nina tugged at her clothes, "Eleanor..."
Nina immediately clamped her mouth shut, "If I wasn't scared of Eleanor finding out about me sneaking snacks, I'd cry all night just to annoy you!"
Bernard replied indifferently, "Eat less. Losing weight when you're older is tough."
Even though it was sound advice, why did it sound so annoying?
Nina complained, "Bernard, you're so annoying..."
Just as Bernard was about to retort, Eleanor emerged from the kitchen. He swiftly stood up and headed to the dining room.
Taking the plate from her hands, he looked at her cautiously, "Darling, are you still mad at me?"
Eleanor didn't respond, she simply said, "Let's eat."
Then she went to call Nina, not giving Bernard a chance for a private word.
After dinner, Eleanor spent time with Nina, helping her with homework and telling bedtime stories.
Even though Nina was still young, Bernard, who had always insisted on gender boundaries, never entered Nina's room, waiting patiently outside.
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